Col. Benjamin Ben Eliezer was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General this morning and named to replace Brig. Gen. David Hagoel as military commander on the West Bank. Hagoel was relieved of his command last night for his part in trying to cover up an incident in Beth Jalla near Bethlehem last March 21 when Israeli soldiers lobbed tear gas grenades into a local school. Seven pupils who jumped from the first floor window were injured.
Hagoel was summoned to the Defense Ministry last night and officially informed of his dismissal. Defense Minister Ezer Weizman and Chief of Staff Gen. Raphael Eytan concluded that Hagoel had knowledge of the facts of the incident when he flatly denied a report of it published in Time magazine.
Disciplinary measures have been taken against other senior officers of the West Bank command. Lt. Col. Nathan Rom and his deputy, Maj. Nissim Cohen, will face judiciary proceedings for disobey ing regulations covering the use of force against civilians on the West Bank. Another major who commanded the unit in Beth Jalla has been reprimanded.
The shakeup in the West Bank command followed two investigations of events in Beth Jalla. The first, which absolved the officers and soldiers of any violation of regulations, did not satisfy the Defense Ministry and a second investigation was ordered. This determined that the Time account was essentially correct. Military regulations do not permit soldiers to enter schools or use firearms against pupils without specific authorization.
The incident at Beth Jalla followed demonstrations there and in other West Bank towns against Israel’s invasion of Lebanon last March 19 in which school children joined. Israeli soldiers chased the youngsters into the Iskander Houri school in Beth Jalla. At that point, the major in command, acting on his own initiative, ordered his men into the building over the protests of the headmaster and ordered them to fire tear gas grenades into a classroom.
The incident caused severe embarrassment to Israel and increased bitterness on the West Bank. But the Arabs of Beth Jalla, who are mostly Christians, today welcomed the tough measures taken against the high ranking officers responsible.
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